Mustang Wall at Mustang Library Ken Williams		Print This Page Email This Page

Location

Located inside Mustang Library

10101 N. 90th St.

Description

Completed: 1991

Media: clay brick with various fired-on ceramic-colored coatings 9' x 66' x 8"

The first public art commissioned through the program--a bas relief sculpture of running mustangs.

Project History: The Mustang Library was designated as the site of the first piece of art commissioned for the Public Art Program for the City of Scottsdale. While Mustang Public Library was under construction, the original architect (Hal Dean) and the interior designer (MBID, In.) searched for artwork to complete the interior of the building and give it focus. Their search led them to Ken Williams, an accomplished clay brick muralist out of Pueblo, Colorado, who had completed several successful commissions throughout the West. However, building funds ran short and the mural was unable to be commissioned. The Cultural Council reviewed a request by the library director to consider funding this project. Through their selection process, the Cultural Council determined that the project should be funded out of the public art monies and completed by artist Ken Williams as the architect and interior designer had originally planned.

The work of art is known as a "bas relief," which means that it is a sculpture in which the figures project less than half of their true depth from the background. The subject of the bas-relief sculpture is of several galloping mustang ponies against a background of desert mesas. The images were carved from wet clay -- when carvings are completed in this process, each brick is separated from the whole, numbered, sun-dried and placed in a kiln to bake. After firing is completed, brick is separated by sections, palatised and transported to its permanent location.

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